Chapter 009: The Mysterious Hell Money

The moment we heard it, we were stunned for a couple of seconds. I immediately pressed Fat Ji to explain what was going on. That was when I noticed he was clutching a sheet of ghost money—the kind burned for the dead. It was this very ghost money that had frightened him so much. The sun was high in the sky, yet its rays felt cold and chilling rather than warm.

I had met Fat Ji twice before. In my impression, his face was fleshy and rough, but his courage wasn’t lacking. For him to be so terrified, this ghost money must be anything but ordinary. Instantly, I connected the ghost money in his hand to the three sheets the owner of Chaoyang Restaurant had received.

Sure enough, Fat Ji stammered out that he had just come from Chaoyang Restaurant, and on his way back, he suddenly discovered this ghost money in his pocket. At first, I thought it might be one of the ghost bills the police had already collected as evidence. But Fat Ji insisted this one had appeared out of nowhere.

Moreover, it showed up while he was walking back from Chaoyang Restaurant. I asked him for the details, and his face turned an ashen green. He said he’d gone back to Chaoyang Restaurant to ask more questions, as his superiors were pressuring him to solve the case quickly. Since it was mealtime, he had a bowl of noodles there. On the way back, he stopped at a street stall to buy some fruit. When he reached into his pocket, he unexpectedly pulled out a ghost bill. The shock struck him dumb; he forgot all about the fruit and rushed back to the police station, growing more frightened with every step. By the time he reached the station, his legs were nearly giving out.

Chen Fan asked whether Fat Ji had accidentally taken one of the ghost bills from the station. Before he could finish, Luo Feng pulled him aside—his question was far too careless. But Fat Ji, already undone by fear, stammered that the three ghost bills at the station had long since been sealed away as evidence. There was no way one could have ended up in his pocket.

Fat Ji also said that when he paid his bill at Chaoyang Restaurant, there was no ghost money in his pocket. In other words, the ghost bill had appeared out of thin air. Chen Fan’s expression darkened. Before he could say anything to deepen everyone’s fear, I suggested Fat Ji return to the station.

Fat Ji agreed, and Luo Feng didn’t follow.

When we arrived at the station, everyone saw how rattled Fat Ji was and asked what had happened. He repeated his story, and the station was thrown into chaos. But no one lost their heads; someone quickly called for the forensics team to collect the ghost money.

The forensic staff took the ghost money away for examination.

While Fat Ji was talking to others, I slipped a banknote from my pocket and, as carefully as possible, tried to slip it into his pocket as I passed by. But Fat Ji noticed my movement immediately. He asked what I was doing, and I admitted I was just testing something.

Fat Ji had already confirmed that the ghost money wasn’t in his pocket when he paid at Chaoyang Restaurant, so it had to have appeared while he was walking back. Yet even as I tried, with the utmost caution, to slip a note into his pocket while he stood still, I was detected. On his walk back, Fat Ji would have been in constant motion.

My theory was quickly disproved.

After much persuasion, Fat Ji gradually regained his composure and waited patiently for the results. He wasn’t lacking in nerve; it was just that the incident was so unnerving.

An hour later, the forensic technician emerged. She was a young woman and had performed a rapid analysis on the ghost bill. There were three sets of fingerprints: one belonging to Fat Ji, one unidentified, and the last one she hesitated to reveal. Fat Ji, anxious, urged her to speak. At last, she said it: the third fingerprint matched Old Nine, the deceased.

The uproar in the police station fell into a deathly silence. The ghost bill that had so mysteriously appeared in Fat Ji’s pocket was now inseparably linked to the Ghostly Restaurant Case. The young forensic woman was on the verge of tears, confessing she had never dealt with anything so bizarre.

"Was the unidentified fingerprint male or female?" I had Chen Fan ask discreetly for me.

She considered, then replied that it was an index finger, smaller in size, more likely female, though she couldn’t be certain. I had Chen Fan quietly ask her to check if it belonged to Yun Qing.

The police had already taken an interest in Yun Qing, and everyone knew her well enough. Fat Ji, at a loss, nodded and gave the instruction. We then sat in a corner, patiently waiting.

"Fang Han, what is going on?" Chen Fan whispered incessantly in my ear until I silenced him with a glare.

So far, four ghost bills had appeared: the first three received by Chaoyang Restaurant, and the fourth by Fat Ji. The first three bore only two sets of fingerprints—either the owner or an employee of the restaurant, and Old Nine, the deceased. The fourth carried three.

All four appeared under strange circumstances. The fingerprints showed contact with both the deceased and the restaurant staff. Coupled with the owner's daily money-counting, where one bill would go missing and a ghost bill would appear in its place, it seemed as if the money at Chaoyang Restaurant had been transformed into ghost money.

Yun Qing had told the restaurant owner: what you received was already ghost money, handed to you by the spirit of the deceased.

Fat Ji couldn’t recall how much money he’d had, so he couldn’t tell if any was missing from his pocket.

We sat for a long while, unable to make sense of it. Finally, after hours, as dusk approached, the young female forensic technician returned. The test results were in—the unidentified fingerprint belonged to Yun Qing.

Fat Ji’s temper flared at once; he ordered someone to bring Yun Qing in.

After a long wait, Yun Qing arrived. She was dressed in a Taoist robe. The officers who’d brought her in said she’d been performing a ritual, and the family was reluctant to let her go, so they’d waited for her to finish before bringing her in. Neither of the officers had treated her roughly; evidently, they’d witnessed her odd methods and were wary.

As soon as Yun Qing entered, she looked around and noticed me, but made no pretense of not knowing me.

She spoke first: "South of the mountain, north of the water is yang; north of the mountain, south of the water is yin. This station stands on a site of extreme yin. If I’m not mistaken, something unclean has been drawn here, hasn’t it?"

Her theatrics left Fat Ji momentarily speechless. At my prompting, Chen Fan helped Fat Ji to his feet. Fat Ji chose not to take Yun Qing to the interrogation room but instead questioned her sternly: why was her fingerprint on the ghost money?

At the mention of the ghost bill, Yun Qing visibly paused. She asked what ghost money they were referring to. Someone quickly showed her the ghost bill in a plastic evidence bag. Yun Qing said the type she used for rituals was different and claimed not to know why her fingerprint was on this one. She spoke calmly, her manner befitting her Taoist attire.

Thinking he saw his chance, Chen Fan slammed the table and shouted, "No more excuses! Your fingerprint and Old Nine’s are both on this bill. Admit it—you killed him, didn’t you?"

I tugged at his sleeve, but it was too late to stop his blunder. Yun Qing had a solid alibi; she couldn’t have been the direct perpetrator.

Yun Qing was quick-witted. She countered, "May I ask, officer, is this ghost bill one of those the owner of Chaoyang Restaurant received?" She also demanded to know where the bill had come from. The police had no choice but to answer truthfully. Yun Qing smiled faintly, "In that case, how can you accuse me of murder? Let me tell you: the one who took their lives was not a person, but a ghost. And, officer, you are possessed. If you don’t let me perform a ritual to dispel the evil, you’ll be in trouble within days."

Yun Qing had seized the upper hand.

I watched her closely—she truly seemed unaware of the ghost bill’s origin.

Someone asked Fat Ji if they should detain her. He shook his head and let her go. With insufficient evidence, they couldn’t hold her. After she left, Fat Ji instructed his men to keep her under surveillance and not let her leave the port district.

By then, it was the end of the workday and the crowd dispersed. The mystery of the ghost money was left unresolved. Fat Ji, rubbing his temples in frustration, staggered out of the station. Chen Fan and I left as well, not seeing Luo Feng, but we soon spotted Yun Qing.

She was standing outside the station, waiting.

She was waiting for me. As soon as she saw me, she walked over.

She asked if I’d considered her warning.

I asked her what warning.

Yun Qing replied, "Didn’t I tell you to leave the port district as soon as possible? Are you really not afraid of being haunted by evil spirits again?"